Insulating-joint for pipes.



No. 707,303. Patented Aug. l9, I902.

F. E. CLELAND &. E. B. MURRAY.

INSULATING JOINT FOR PIPES.

(Application filed. Mar. 10, 1902.)

(No Model.)

FINDLEY E. OLELAND AND EDXVARD ASSIGNORS OF ONE-THIRD TO JOSEPH GASS,

PATENT OFFICE.

B. MURRAY, OF DES MOINES, IOWA,

OF DES MOINES, IOWA.

INSULATING-JOINT FOR PIPES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 707,303, dated August19, 1902.

Application filed March 10, 1902.

T aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, FINDLEY E. OLELAND and EDWARD B. MURRAY, citizensof the United States, residing at Des Moines, in the county of Polk andState of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inInsulating-Joints for Pipes, of which the following is a specification.

Our objects are to provide ajoint especially designed for use inconnection with gas-pipes, which joint shall be of simple, durable, andinexpensive construction and readily and quickly applied to a gas-pipeat any point that is readily accessible, preferably near a gas-meterwithin the building to which it is applied; and our object is, further,to provide a joint of this class that when applied to a gas pipe leadingfrom a building to the ground will prevent the pipe from beconr :0 inggrounded, so that inthe event that electric Wires within the buildingcome in contact with the gas-pipe the current cannot pass to the groundnor flow through the pipe, and hence the pipe cannot be burned by anelectrical current; and our object is, further, in this connection toprovide means, together with the insulating-joint, whereby in the eventthat an electric arc should be established through the insulating-jointthe are will be quickly extinguished, so that even in the event ofexcessive electrical discharges, such as might be caused by lightning,it cannot flow from the electric wires within the building to theground, or in the event that a flash should pass through theinsulatingjoint the are thus established will be quickly extinguished.

Our invention consists in certain details in the construction,arrangement, and combination of the various parts of the device wherebythe objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully setforth, pointed out in our claims, and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 shows in perspective two pipes connected byour improved insulating-joint. Fig. 2 shows an inside end View of one ofthe parts of the insulating-joint with the permanent magnets in positiontherein, and Fig. 3 shows a longitudinal sectional View through SerialNo. 97,421. (No model.)

the joint and through the adjacent ends of two metal pipes.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, We have used thereference-numerallO to indicate one of the metal service-pipes, providedat its end with an outwardly-projecting flange 11. The other pipe(indicated by the numeral 12) may, if desired, be of smaller diameterand is provided with a similar outwardlyprojecting flange 13.

The insulating-joint proper is composed of two similar blocks, eachblock having on its inner face a recess large enough to admit the flangeof the pipe and on its outer face having an opening arrangedconcentrically relative to the recess and fitting the pipe proper, sothat the pipe may beinserted through the inner face of the block and theflange of the pipe rest against the bottom of the recess, While the bodyportion of the pipe projects through the opening.

The numeral 14 indicates the block, and 15 the recess on its inner face.If the pipe is thus placed in position, we fill the recess on top of theflange With an insulating substance, preferably sulfur. This insulatoris indicated by the numeral 16, and an opening 17 is provided throughits central portion to establish communication through the pipe andblock.

On the inner face of one of the blocks 14 we have placed a series ofpermanent horseshoe-magnets 18, with their ends arranged in positionsurrounding the opening 17. These magnets are embedded in porcelainblocks 14, and the sulfur filler 16 surrounds theends, thus firmlyholding them in position.

The numeral 19 indicates an insulating packing-sheet having an openingthrough its center and placed between the blocks 14:, and the blocks areheld together by means of the bolts 20, passed through them and providedwith the nuts 21 on their ends. In connecting an insulating-joint ofthis class with the adjacent ends of two service-pipes we first 95 formon the ends of the pipe the flanges 11 and 13. We then place the pipesin the blocks. WVhen this is done, the sulfur is ap plied, preferably inmelted form, and is run into position to fill the recesses in theblocks, 100

. moisture can accumulate in the joint.

a core of some sort being provided, so that an opening is left throughthe sulfur fillers. Obviously this filler will thoroughly seal thecracks or joints within the blocks and rigidly secure the pipes to theblocks, so that -there can be no leakage from the pipes to the outersurfaces of the blocks. Then the insulating-sheet 19 is placed betweenthe blocks and the opening in its center in line with the openingthrough the fillers, and then the bolts 20 are inserted and the nuts 21are tightly screwed to position, thus preventing leakage between theblocks. The joint is applied to that portion of the pipe which stands ina substantially Vertical position, so that no In practical use it isobvious that where a joint of this class is applied to a pipe there canbe no electrical connection between the pipes 10 and 12, and even thoughelectrical servicewires are connected With the pipes in a building thesaid pipes cannot be grounded, and hence as the current cannot flowthrough them the pipes cannot become burned by said electrical currents.Furthermore,in the event that an unusually large electrical currentsuch,for instance, as a lightning dischargeshould in some way becomeconnected with the service-pipes and should be of such intensity to becapable of establishing an are through the insulating-joints then theaction of the permanent magnets would tend to immediately dissipate thearc and prevent it from burning the pipes. Also our improvedinsulating-joint is especially designed for use on gas-service pipes andmay obviously be applied to any kind of pipes that might serve asconductors of electricity, and the insulat- Y ing-blocks may be made ofporcelain or any other suitable insulating material, and the fillersneed not be made of sulfur; but any insulating material that is readilymelted could be used in place of the sulfur.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States therefor, is-

1. An improved insulating-joint for pipes, comprising in combination twopipes having flanged adjacent ends, two insulating-blocks havingopenings in their outer faces to admit the pipes and recesses on theinner faces to receive the flanges, insulating-fillers in said recesseshaving central openings therein in alinement with the pipes, aninsulating packing-sheet having a central opening placed between theblocks, and means for clamping said blocks together.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of two pipeshaving flanges at their ends, two insulator-blocks having openingsextending through them and recesses surrounding said openings intheirinner faces with the flanges resting in said recesses,insulating-fillers in said recesses, said fillers having openingstherein, a number of permanent horseshoe-magnets embedded in the innerface of one of said blocks and having the insulating-filler surroundingthe end portions and having their ends extending to the opening in theinsulating-filler, an insulating-sheet having a central opening placedbetween the insulating-blocks, bolts passed through theinsulating-blocks and the nuts on said bolts, substantially as and forthe purposes stated.

FINDLEY E. OLELAND. EDWARD B. MURRAY. Witnesses:

J. RALPH ORWIG, W. R. LANE.

